2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 716 The Bold CEO Tan

"Then I'll be going now. Junior, you can continue your conversation with President Tan. I'll host a dinner for President Tan tonight."

Holding the signed contract in his hand, Wang Xun felt a heavy weight on his heart. Looking at the two people in front of him, he felt a mix of emotions.

"Junior brother, I wish you a bright future."

These words were spoken to Hu Zhengnan, and also as a blessing to Tan Jincheng.

"Thank you, senior brother."

Hu Zhengnan nodded vigorously. They were colleagues at SAIC and later started their own business together. When they first founded the design studio, he was only 25 years old, and his senior colleague was only 27.

Full of vigor, his senior colleague worked day and night to secure business, while he worked overtime day and night. Neither of them dreaded the difficulties, but now that the company is doing well, he wants to leave.

Now that the company is doing well, he has to leave, which is somewhat sad.

"There's no need for that, gentlemen. There will be many more opportunities for cooperation in the future. Weilai Auto welcomes Mr. Wang's visit at any time."

Tan Jincheng could understand this feeling. He felt the same way when he and Zhang Xupeng separated in his previous life, and he was also very sad when he separated from Zhang Xupeng in this life.

As for the idea of ​​fully acquiring Longchuang and bringing Wang Xun under his wing, Tan Jincheng never considered it.

Sometimes, a full acquisition by a company is not as cost-effective as an investment. For an independent and established design studio like this, it is far better to let it maintain its independent style than to let it be controlled by a car company.

"Haha, Mr. Tan is right, there will be many more opportunities for cooperation in the future; alright then, I won't keep you any longer."

Hu Zhengnan is gone, and he still has to go back to adjust the company structure. A new technical director needs to be appointed as soon as possible to maintain the stability of the company's R&D direction.

In addition, Wang Xun was also very grateful that the 50 million yuan investment from Tan Jincheng was a timely help for both him personally and the company. Longchuang plans to open another branch in Tianjin in October this year and embark on the road of expansion.

Even without Hu Zhengnan's involvement, they would still be looking for investment this year.

Although they lost a technical director, in terms of overall revenue, Longchuang still made a profit. They couldn't get such a high valuation from a normal investment institution.

Hu Zhengnan also recommended Xu Hang, the current manager of the company's body department and project manager, as a candidate for technical director. Xu Hang joined the company in 2003 and has been with the company for seven years.

Tan Jincheng had never heard of Wang Xun's name in his previous life, but judging from the cooperation process and the turnover rate of their company's employees, he should be a very excellent and humane manager.

His ability to gradually improve the company proves his competence, and the low employee turnover rate demonstrates that the company offers good career development opportunities and compensation.

While this understanding may be somewhat one-sided, it is generally true that everyone is just working for a living, all for the sake of a future and a few coins.

After Wang Xun left.

Tan Jincheng said with some regret, "It's a pity. President Wang has his own ideas. Actually, my appreciation for President Wang is no less than that for Director Hu."

Hu Zhengnan worked diligently under Wang Xun for ten years. If it weren't for the unexpected incident with Tan Jincheng, he would have worked for another two or three years, from the age of twenty-four or twenty-five to thirty-seven or thirty-eight before leaving.

It's one thing to lack ability, but how many of those who are capable can actually do it?
Everyone has ambitions.

Hu Zhengnan had no objection to this, and said with a smile: "My senior brother is indeed very capable. He comes from a technical background, but his business skills and management skills are also very strong. I have learned a lot from him."

When is it expected that Director Hu can start work?

"When does Mr. Tan need me to start work? My handover can actually be done very quickly. Besides, we have other collaborations to do later. If Mr. Tan is in a hurry, I can talk to my senior colleague about it."

Now that the new employer has been decided, it's time to make a statement.

"Haha, there's no rush. Take your time. You can start working after May Day. I still have to go to the capital. Mr. Hu, aren't you curious about who the director of the Weilai Automotive Research Institute is?"

"Isn't it just you, Mr. Tan? Or is it some other big shot?"

Hu Zhengnan had studied the structure of Tan Jincheng's companies. He usually held the highest-level position. When Tan Jincheng invited him to the research institute, he only invited him to serve as the vice president and the chief technology officer of Weilai Automobile.

Hu Zhengnan didn't think much of it, assuming that President Tan was managing the research institute himself. Now it seems that in addition to him, President Tan has also hired another expert.

"Yes, Mr. Hu should have heard of Mr. Yu Liguo from BAIC, right?"

"President Yu? I've heard of him, but I didn't expect President Tan to actually invite him. That's impressive."

Hu Zhengnan was taken aback. This person was a big shot, far more senior and experienced than him. Someone in charge of BAIC's strategic planning was no ordinary person, especially one in charge of new energy.

After a moment of contemplation, Hu Zhengnan smiled and said, "If it's President Yu's, then I'll be even more confident about joining the Weilai Automotive Research Institute."

He was grateful for Tan Jincheng's appreciation, but he was still somewhat unsure about taking full responsibility for the entire research institute. Although he had experience working at SAIC, he was still not entirely confident about taking full responsibility for the R&D of a complete vehicle company.

Especially since the Yuechi A1 is already selling like hotcakes, if the newly developed models do not meet expectations, then the person directly in charge will bear a lot of pressure.

In retrospect, Mr. Tan has found him a mentor with extensive experience in vehicle manufacturing.

"How about it, do you want to come with me to the capital to meet President Yu and have a good chat?"

Tan Jincheng's plan is to have Yu Liguo in charge of the planning for new energy vehicles and Hu Zhengnan in charge of the planning for fuel vehicles. Hu Zhengnan previously worked at Longchuang mainly on fuel vehicles and participated in the design of many fuel vehicles.

At the 2008 Beijing Auto Show, eight of the vehicles were designed with the participation of Longchuang, and at the 2009 Beijing Auto Show, three more vehicles were designed and developed with the participation of Longchuang.

In this respect alone, he is far superior to managers like Yu Liguo, who are only responsible for the business of BAIC.

"Oh, so Mr. Tan went to the capital to see Mr. Yu? Does that mean Mr. Yu's employment hasn't been finalized yet?"

"No, that's not it. The hiring decision is basically finalized. Zhang Yong and I have communicated with President Yu many times before, and this time we went to personally invite him." I've invited you, a vice dean, three times already, so there's no reason for the dean not to personally go and invite you as well.

The reason for sending Hu Zhengnan to the capital was to allow them to get to know each other in advance and exchange ideas on the future development direction of the research institute, so that there would be no awkwardness between them when they officially joined the company.

Tan Jincheng plans to locate the Weilai Automotive Research Institute at the intersection of Xiapu, Chaiqiao, and Daqi towns, which is near the present-day Jiufeng Mountain.

There are mountains and rivers there, and it is very close to Xinqi Township, the center of the district government. It takes about half an hour to drive to the district government center and a little over an hour to drive to Ningbo city.

It is not far from Meishan Island, where the current Beicang factory is located, and it can also serve Chunxiao Town, which is still in a semi-developed state.

If there are new factories, research institute expansions, or other investments in the future, they can also move closer to Chunxiao.

This place didn't have any large industrial zones in its previous life. Even in 2023, when Tan Jincheng rebuilt it, there was no large-scale development. It was mostly small factories and primitive villagers.

Today's Beicang is completely different from its past. Where industrial parks will be planned and where there will be demolitions largely depends on the actions of Shanchi.

The initial idea of ​​starting a business by considering whether there would be big plans for the future and making money from demolition compensation is long gone.

"Um, it's too late to go to the capital now, isn't it?"

Hu Zhengnan was somewhat tempted to meet the bigwigs of BAIC, his future boss, but President Tan was about to set off, and it was too late for him to go.

"It's alright. If you can come, I can stay in the capital for a couple more days."

Hu Zhengnan thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll go back and talk to my senior brother, and I'll buy the plane tickets right away."

Since the boss said so, I definitely have to go.

"Okay, that's settled then. I'll be going now. Send the itinerary to my secretary later, and contact him when you get to the capital."

Tan Jincheng gave Hu Zhengnan a business card from Zeng Jixiang.

"Then I won't be polite, thank you boss."

Without being polite to Tan Jincheng and changing his form of address, Hu Zhengnan seemed to have already entered work mode.

Dealing with smart people is simple. Although reluctant, Hu Zhengnan's attitude changed very quickly and his actions were very decisive after deciding to join the company.

After returning to the company, I greeted Wang Xun and booked a flight that would be a little later.

Wang Xun didn't cause his good junior colleague any trouble leaving the company. He had to do the job after taking the money. Not only was the valuation so high, but he also promised that the money would arrive in his account the next day. Where else could you find such a good deal?

That said, this Ms. Tan is really rich. Even companies with a market value of tens of billions don't have much cash flow.

He casually spent 6000 million yuan as if it were 600 yuan, and it was all from his own pocket. Where did his money come from?
Is it true, as rumored, that he has made a lot of money from investments?
"Are you sending me to the capital on a business trip at this time because Wei's research institute has hired some big shot as its director?"

When it comes to automotive resources, Beijing is undoubtedly one of the best and most abundant. The Qingmu system of universities has produced many automotive tycoons, and Zhang Yong, the current CEO of Weilai Auto, is also a graduate of the Qingmu system.

"Hehe, that's right. This time, President Tan took me to meet a big shot. If nothing unexpected happens, he is the dean of the Weilai Automotive Engineering Institute. I originally thought that President Tan himself had become the dean."

"Wow, he's got some serious connections. People always say that President Tan has a powerful background, and now it seems that he really is quite impressive and has a generous spirit."

He knew about Hu Zhengnan's new position. Originally, he had the same idea as Hu Zhengnan, but now it seems that was not the case. This young CEO Tan is really generous, and he has made a move that is that of a big shot.

However, while it's easy to hire big shots, it's not so simple to control them. This guy dared to entrust the newly established research institute to two new employees, which is really in line with his personality.

Just like when Weilai Automobile was first established, all management and preparatory work were handed over to Zhang Yong.

As a fellow boss, Wang Xun noticed that this CEO Tan was truly bold in his personnel choices. Apart from Flash Technology, the company he personally founded, all his other employees were hired in this way.

Boss Tan, who is known for his bold use of personnel, is on his way to the airport.

Along the way, he kept thinking about what benefits he should give this boss. He gave Hu Zhengnan 1000 million yuan, which was supposed to be a transfer fee to buy his shares. But he didn't even ask for those shares. It was practically a free gift.

Pay me directly?

This doesn't seem like a good idea. The other party's identity doesn't seem suitable, there's no proper reason, and the other party might not even care about this amount of money.

With his current wealth, Yu Liguo is no less than Hu Zhengnan. Given his background in government and state-owned enterprises, Tan Jincheng may not be able to say there aren't some inside stories, but with these experiences, he's definitely not short of money.

You should know that he originally came from Z, which was a district in a resource-rich city in Heilongjiang Province.

"Brother Li, what do you think would be appropriate to give someone who is not short of money and has a good social status?"

Lai Yiu-fai, who was driving, paused for a moment: "Mr. Tan said we were going to meet Mr. Yu in the capital, right?"

"Yes."

Lai Yiu-fai knows many of the company's more confidential matters, which is not surprising.

"I've heard a saying that you can talk about life and ideals with people who don't lack material things, and you can even talk about some adventurous things, of course, this refers to career matters."

"But we should still give them what they deserve, like stock options or a house, which is something we can consider."

"Haha, Brother Li, you know quite a lot now. You even understand the difference between stock options and equity."

Lai Yiu-fai grinned. Indeed, this roughneck could now use some sophisticated vocabulary.

(End of this chapter)